


A Bird That Walks; A Mouse That Flies

by NestPlaster



Category: Batman (Movies 1989-1997)
Genre: Action, Angst, Armor, Christmas Smut, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Umbrellas, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-10 16:17:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8923867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NestPlaster/pseuds/NestPlaster
Summary: It is Christmas time in Gotham, and a confrontation is about to take place below the city zoo. Can two bitter enemies find common ground during the holiday season?





	

The Batman put his boot to the glass and shoved the pane inwards, firing his bat-grapple in the same motion. Before a shard of glass hit ground he was suspended from the steel cable and racing towards the bolt driven deep into the concrete of the far wall, sliding downwards towards his quarry. His name was besmirched, the city was in chaos, and who knew what devilry lurked below him in this villain's lair -- yet he had to admit to himself he felt more alive than he had in recent memory, and especially at this time of year.

On the wet concrete below, The Penguin noticed the barbed hook of the bat-grapple lodge in the concrete, and saw the faintest hint of a shadow cross the floor. He held back a smile at the ridiculous notion that here, in his domain, someone might dare to think they could sneak in unnoticed. A quick calculation proved that his umbrella stand was too far to reach in time and he would have to make do with his current armaments. The Penguin waited patiently with what he hoped was an air of nonchalance until the moment was right and then spun, umbrella raised and teeth bared. The intruder would pay for his hubris.

Batman caught the tension in Penguins shoulders almost too late. Already committed to a leap from the wire suspended taut in the air he adjusted and landed hard, catching the suddenly raised umbrella across one gauntleted forearm. The short man had surprising strength for what seemed like a soft doughy frame, and Batman admitted grimly that he had underestimated this foe, although his confidence never wavered. Leaning in against his own arm he pressed his cowled face close and growled "Your reign of terror will not see the dawn of Christmas Day on my watch." Mentally he cringed. Why had he brought up the holiday? He had to focus on this fight, for the sake of the city if not his own reputation.

"Hrargh" snarled Penguin, grinding his teeth as he glowered up at the interloper in his sanctum. Emotion ran through his cold veins like shards of ice in the arctic surf, cutting and freezing in equal measure. He pressed his shoulder forward, but was matched evenly by this dark clad interloper. His nose grazed across the mask hovering before his face, and he focused all of his hatred into a glare as he locked eyes with the intruder. Beneath the hammering waves of anger, he berated himself for his inelegance, his lack of words. Raised by penguins or not, he felt as vulnerable as the day he was cast into the icy waters as an infant when words fled him like this.

Dark eyes stared back at Batman as he considered his tactical moves. Did this creature even have the joints he was used to breaking, he wondered? A rapid reflection on bird anatomy was derailed has he noticed suddenly that the rage in these beady black eyes inches from his own was familiar, not because of the criminals he normally battled, but because of his own past. There before him sat the eyes of an angry child finding himself alone in the world and determined to hit back at what had taken his parents. There before him sat his own pain.

The Penguin felt the body before him relax, although it still resisted movement and held his weapon firmly in check. "Why" rasped the intruder. "Why have you done this to the city. Why torture these people." Penguin felt the anger powering him fade slightly and his thoughts grow murky, unaccustomed to a show of empathy from any whole man. He had never asked himself why, and certainly never been asked. The question calmed his blood slightly, and made him reconsider his assailant.

"They hate me" Penguin spat back, as Batman watched his eyes soften. The words were a a question, if not one that was ready for an answer. "They fear me" Penguin continued, and The Batman held his ground and waited, holding fast without pushing back. "They can't love me" Penguin finished, and Batman let his arms go slack as Penguin did the same, finding himself standing chest to chest with what he had previously considered a monster. Well, they had called him a monster too. What did the people above know of their kind.

"You could join me" Penguin continued, letting the tip of his umbrella drop to the ground, blade still hidden neatly in the shaft. "They don't understand you, but we are the same. I can see that now." The words flowed easier now, carried by intuition and truth rather than anger and hate. He knew as he spoke them that The Batman would never join him, never turn his back on the people above, but that seemed less important now that finding common ground. "You could join me here..." His words turned to a plea as he finished.

Batman left his guard down and reached out with a gloved hand, resting it gently on the shoulder of the creature before him. "We could be the same" he said, the gravel starting to drop from his voice. Beneath his hand the Penguin was surprisingly firm. Batman felt a hard layer of muscle beneath the tough layer of blubber, and recalled the anatomy of other arctic creatures. This was not a pathetic, out of shape wretch in front of him. This was a creature supremely adapted for its environment, hard and tough as nails where it counted.

"Not the same" sulked Penguin, yet he kept his eyes staring up at the majestic figure before him. His right flipper tentatively reached forward and brushed against the contoured thigh of the bat-armor. "Thought this would be more rubbery" he said quietly as his flippertip traced the bulging thigh up to Batmans hip where it lingered at the edge of the bat-codpiece.

In the shadows Catwoman watched, smiling.


End file.
